Come Back
by Gio Poynter
Summary: The unseen story of how Lupin decided to turn his back on his pregnant wife and what unfolded after he came back. The behind the scenes of book 7. Can be read as a follow up to "She Wants You".
1. Chapter 1

Nymphadora got back from work that day and quickly ran around the kitchen of her and Remus' house to prepare their meal, the one cooking recipe she actually learned from her mother and knew how to cook properly. When she and Lupin got married, just a couple of weeks before, Tonks decided to learn more chores spells, since she'd be more at home now that she actually had a family of her own.

Picking up the ingredients from the cabinets with flicks of her wand, she giggled to herself at that thought. The young woman had never cared about tidying up, her room was always a mess at her parents' place and when she got her own flat, once she started to work as an Auror and decided it was time to live by herself, the entire place had her stuff thrown all over and she didn't even remember if she ever cooked there, since Tonks only came home to sleep, her job and the Order of the Phoenix tasks taking most of her time.

But now, things were different. Completely different.

Even though the war was at its peak and she still had her job and the Order tasks, she also had Remus, someone to come home to. And that feeling of belonging somewhere was amazing, something she couldn't even explain. The girl didn't feel the need to wander around her parents and friends' houses just to pass her free time anymore, she just wanted to come back home to him. Everyday.

Stirring a sauce in the pan, she got herself reminiscing on her Hogwarts days and the Potions class, which she was actually not really good at, just enough to get the grades she needed to become an Auror.

"Oh my God!" Tonks jumped, frightened, when some vegetables she had been cooking in another pan suddenly popped out of it onto the floor. Yeah, she definitely couldn't do two things at once even with the help of some spells for it to cook on its own. Tonks began to admire her mom and Molly Weasley now more than ever, since those two were outstanding in the kitchen. That was clearly not her environment.

But she had to try her best to do it perfectly, at least just this once. Because, that night, she had some important news to share with her husband over dinner and they needed the perfect meal for it.

Almost an hour later, she was finally done when Tonks heard the door being unlocked.

"Hey, I'm home!" Lupin announced himself.

She rushed to put the last dishes on their dining table, almost dropping them onto the floor when she tripped on her own feet, and then made her way to the living room, watching her husband hang his cloak on the coat rack beside the door, distractedly.

"Hi!" She greeted him, standing next to the dining room archway.

"I'm sorry I took so long, I ran into Kingsley and we chatted for a bit…" He turned around and stopped mid sentence when he saw the state his wife was in. Her usual pink short hair was all messy like she had just come back from a battle, there were many spills of different colors on her shirt and skirt and she had a slight cut on her index finger, which she probably hadn't noticed. In spite from all that, Tonks stood smiling widely at him, which Lupin found the weirdest image. "What happened to you?"

"Oh!" Tonks widened her eyes, looking at herself and finally realizing the mess she looked like. "Hang on." With just a squint of her eyes, her hair and clothes changed to the same ones, only this time, much cleaner.

"What's going on?" Lupin approached her, gently taking her right hand in his and healing the cut she still hadn't noticed on her finger with a flick of his wand. He then kissed her hand and, seeing her looking tenderly at him, gave her a peck on the lips.

"Well… I made us dinner!" She pulled him into the dining room, motioning to the table filled with dishes. They actually looked good and edible, she thought, impressed with herself.

"You… cooked?" Lupin raised his eyebrows, an amused expression on his face. It was usually up to him to cook something for them or, if they were too lazy, the couple went out to eat. "What's the occasion?"

"Nothing…" Tonks motioned for him to seat and she did the same in front of him. "Can't a girl just want to do something special for her husband once in awhile?" She lied, preferring them to have dinner first before she told him the news.

"Okay…" He chuckled, not believing her, but letting it go.

The couple had a peaceful dinner, telling each other about their days, Fleur and Bill's wedding they were going to attend that weekend and the Order plans for dealing with Voldemort's uprisal.

"Okay, so, I have something to tell you." Tonks said, once they had finished eating.

"I knew this wasn't for nothing." Lupin laughed, knowing his wife very well.

"Well, I think there's no other way of telling you this…" She took a deep breath, getting ready, seeing Lupin's big frown on his forehead, suddenly worried. "Or I could've, you know, done some pretty magic as an announcement, but I guess I don't know a spell that does it like I'd want it to, I'd have to ask…"

"Dora." Lupin called her attention, noticing she was rambling, nervous.

"I'm pregnant." She let it all out, smiling from ear to ear at the effect those words said out loud had on her. It was the first time she actually said it.

Tonks had never actually dreamed of becoming a mother or planned for it. She and Lupin hadn't even talked about the subject. Everything had happened really fast for them. They took almost a year to finally get together, but when they did, the couple quickly got married, acting out of impulse and their strong feelings for each other and now, just a few weeks after their quiet small wedding, there they were, expecting a baby.

And she was scared, of course, Tonks had no idea of how to raise a child, but more than anything, she was surprised at how that unexpected news made her feel. It made her feel blissfully happy. A feeling that took over her entire body. She and the love of her life were going to have a baby and she couldn't be happier.

Taking a deep breath, she finally looked up to her husband's eyes, expecting to see him surprised, but thrilled about her announcement. However, what Tonks saw was a look of utter shock and even horror in Lupin's expression.

Although she was married to the man, Tonks usually didn't know what he was thinking, since Lupin was very hard to read, keeping his feelings to himself. But, this time, his reaction was so profound that there was no way he could hide it.

He stayed like that for a few seconds, taking in the information and looking down at his plate.

"Remus… Please say something." She basically begged him, scared of what his expression meant.

"You're pregnant?" He finally looked into her eyes, the shock still not leaving his eyes. "You're sure about that?"

"Yes, of course." She furrowed her brows, then reaching for his hands over the table, but he quickly got up and started to pace back and forth on the same spot. "What is going on? Why are you acting like this?" She asked. Tonks had never seen her husband look so disturbed before.

"Why?!" He abruptly stopped in front of her and repeated her question, like the answer was obvious. "Because this wasn't supposed to happen! I didn't think it could happen, I didn't _think_ …"

Tonks' heart sank in her chest, seeing Lupin's reaction. It was obvious he wasn't as thrilled as she was or even a little bit happy as she thought he would be. His reaction was the opposite of that, he was terrified.

Tonks had always seen Lupin be such a father figure to Harry and such a good teacher that she thought he wanted kids one day, that he'd love to be a father himself, she thought… But, clearly she was wrong.

She didn't know what to say or what to do, so the woman just sat there, looking at her husband who was pacing around and running his hands through his thin hair while a million thoughts went through his mind.

"I… I don't even know what to say." He supported himself on the back of the chair in front of him, looking stunned.

"I'm sorry this isn't the future you wanted for yourself." Tonks said in a serious tone, getting up and picking up the dishes from the table without even using magic, feeling more irritated by the second.

"This isn't the future I wanted for _you_! Or for our child!" He exclaimed, trying to make her see his point.

Nymphadora stopped in her tracks towards the kitchen and turned back to Lupin, confused.

"What?"

The man sighed, sitting back on the chair in front of him.

"This baby is probably gonna acquire the lycanthrophy genes, it's probably gonna be a werewolf like me and… The life this child and you are gonna have is just…" He sighed once more, supporting his head on his hands. "We should've been more careful, but I didn't think… Werewolves don't usually breed, so I never thought about it." Lupin spoke mostly to himself, his voice showing his huge affliction. "I can't believe I did this to my own kid, I…" He looked up to meet her eyes and she saw huge tears daring to fall from his own. "I'm sorry I put you through this, Dora, you shouldn't have to deal with this…"

She saw as he quickly dried his eyes before the tears fell and looked away from her, his facial expression showing how destroyed he was.

Tonks definitely did not expect this when she prepared to tell her husband the news earlier that evening.

"Hey." She kneeled down in front of him, supporting herself with her hands on his knees. "It's gonna be okay, our baby will be fine."

"How can you be so sure?" He questioned her, serious.

"I just am." She gave him a half smile. Tonks knew that wasn't much comforting, but she just knew deep down that everything would be fine with their kid. Call it mother instinct or whatever you want, but she just had this feeling.

That didn't seem to convince Lupin, but he was tired of arguing about that subject. In his mind, however, he kept thinking that even if their child wasn't born with the lycanthropy genes, it'd still have him as a father, Lupin, who was seen by everybody else as a dangerous monster. He couldn't wish that life to anyone, let alone his own child.

"This is good, Remus." Tonks said, gently placing a hand on his cheek and smiling at him. "Forget about the things that could go wrong and let's focus on the good. We're having a baby, we're beginning our family. You and I." She smiled even wider at him, happiness taking over her. She hoped he could feel it too. "That's happy news."

He couldn't handle ruining his wife's happiness, seeing she was clearly thrilled about the situation, so he just nodded and gave her a kiss on the forehead, getting up to help her with the dishes.

The next few days were spent by Lupin trying to focus on his work with the Order of the Phoenix and not think too much about the baby situation, which was nearly impossible, since Tonks couldn't stop talking about it, even already announcing it to her parents.

They hadn't had the time to deliver the news to their friends of the Order, since they left Harry's birthday party earlier than expected and were interrupted at Fleur and Bill's wedding by the sudden arrival of some Death Eaters and the news that the Ministry was in Voldemort's hands now. Remus knew he couldn't be glad about that, since it was an awful event, but it definitely helped not telling everybody about their baby because it'd make it even more real for him and he was sure no one would obsess about the child becoming a werewolf like he was. They didn't understand what it was like.

After the wedding, things got a bit more tense with the Ministry being taken over by Voldemort. Tonks made the hard decision to leave her job as an Auror, since she refused to be working for You-Know-Who and also did so for her and the baby's safety, given she was a known member of the Order and working in that environment could be a bit dangerous.

They were also being watched constantly, since Harry was missing and the Death Eaters kept making vigil outside every place that could mean something to the boy, so they had no other choice other than staying at home most of the times.

One day, Ted Tonks and Andromeda were even attacked by Death Eaters at their own house, who used the Cruciatus Curse on the couple to obtain information on Harry's whereabouts, which they didn't give any, of course.

Nymphadora was horrified when she heard what had happened and apologized to them many times, like it was her fault that they were in the midst of all this. Remus couldn't help but feel a little bit guilty too. But, Ted and Andromeda, noble as they were, refused to accept their apologies, saying they didn't regret their participation in it at all and that they were doing it for a better future for the wizarding world and, most of all, for their grandchild.

Tonks and Lupin were having a quiet dinner once, when the man decided to talk about what had been on his mind.

"I've been thinking about joining the kids." He said, to which his wife frowned in confusion, not understanding what he was talking about. "You know how the Weasleys told us Dumbledore gave Harry, Ron and Hermione a mission?" She nodded to his explanation. "I thought it'd be best if I could go with them. They won't tell anyone what the mission is about, but I could protect them and…"

"Are you mad?!" She looked at him like he was insane. "You don't know anything about what they're going to do and you just wanna take off with them for God knows how long?"

"Well, that's the point." He argued calmly, trying to make her see that it made sense for him to join them. "They're just kids, they didn't finish school, it's too dangerous for them…"

"I think you're underestimating those three, you were their Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher and you know very well what they're capable of. They're not 'just kids'." Tonks put more food in her plate, not agreeing with him.

"Yes, I know, but this is Voldemort we're talking about. They're the main target of the Dark Lord and his many Death Eaters. We're dealing with powerful magic here, things they weren't prepared to deal with in school." He argued once again. Looking at his wife and, seeing she was getting annoyed, Lupin added. "In the meantime I'm there, you could be at your parents' so you won't be alone."

"Wow, thanks for thinking about me." She said with irony.

"Dora…" He was going to defend himself, but she interrupted him.

"Are you sure that's the only reason you want to go with them? To be of protection?" She asked, a serious look in her eyes as she stared at her husband.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you barely even talk to me anymore unless it's something related to the Order, you get constantly lost in your thoughts..." Tonks listed what she had noticed of Lupin's behavior lately. "You're unhappy, Remus. Ever since I told you about the baby." She affirmed.

"What? No, I don't…" He began, but there was no discussing that. Tonks knew she was right.

"You just go, then." She said harshly, getting up from the table and ending that discussion.

They didn't talk much for the rest of the evening, Lupin clearly noticing his wife was mad at him.

When he went to bed, that night, he found her already asleep and tried to do the same. However, Lupin kept turning on the bed for hours, a million thoughts in his head making it impossible for him to fall asleep.

Turning on his side, he opened his eyes and looked at Nymphadora sleeping peacefully on her back, her chest slightly moving up and down as she was caught in a deep sleep.

He watched the serene expression on her face, which was turned to his side next to her left hand on the pillow, locks of the long and wavy blue hair she had chosen to wear that day hanging on her cheek.

He wished it could be easier. All of it.

Lupin loved that woman more than anything and he wished he didn't have to leave her, that they could just have a beautiful family together and have a happy life. But they couldn't. Maybe, if the situation was different, if the wizarding world was safe and everything was normal, _he_ was normal, maybe they could have that. It was all he ever wanted.

And it wasn't a matter of choice. It hurt him to even think about leaving his wife and his child, who - he couldn't deny it - Lupin already loved so much, but he simply had to.

He shouldn't have done that, Lupin shouldn't have married Tonks, he was sure of it. He did it by an act of impulse and selfishness, wanting more than anything to be with her at all times but, by doing that, he had destroyed her reputation in the wizarding community. She was now 'the woman who had married a werewolf', a joke. And he knew her parents didn't approve of that marriage. They had never said or reacted in any way, always being kind to him, but he was sure that deep down, they had wished a lot better for their daughter.

And he did too. He wanted more than anything for Tonks to have the best life she could have, she deserved it. An amazing Auror and witch, a beautiful, funny and kind woman with a huge heart deserved much more than what he was giving her.

And now he had condemned her life even more by giving her a cursed child with huge probability of having his lycanthropy genes. A life of moving around all the time and living on edge, without knowing what your child is capable of doing, a risk to everyone. He remembered really well how his parents had suffered to try and give him the best life he could have.

Looking at Nymphadora's belly, he noticed the growing bump just above her belly button, being noticeable even under her pajama shirt. Slightly pulling the fabric away, he put his hand over her bump, carefully caressing her skin with his thumb, so he wouldn't wake her up.

Even if the child wasn't a werewolf, a life with Lupin as a father wasn't something he wished to it. That innocent child deserved better than being ashamed of its own dad and that's what he was going to give them. A better life, without him. That was their best option in that moment. He had already made enough damage.

Taking a deep breath, he got up, seeing it was starting to dawn, and, as silent as he could, packed a few of his stuff with flicks of his wand. Only the necessary, though.

Changing into his traveling clothes, he picked up a piece of paper and wrote a note to Tonks, leaving it on her bedside table.

 _I'm really sorry. You deserve better than this, than what I gave you. You'll be better off without me. Please, go to your parents' place, you'll be safe there._

 _Remus_

Giving one last look at the peacefully sleeping Tonks, he turned his back and left.


	2. Chapter 2

Lupin was sitting by himself in a corner at the Leaky Cauldron, drinking his second butterbeer and watching the people passing by as he tried to blow off some steam and think clearly about what he was going to do.

The man had just returned from the Grimmauld Place an hour before, where he and Harry had had a heated argument and Lupin even knocked down Harry with a spell, which he now regretted deeply. The boy had denied Lupin's offer to come along with them in their mission when he found out Lupin would be leaving a pregnant Tonks behind. By saying that James would be disappointed at Remus leaving his own kid behind and calling the man a coward, Harry was able to make Lupin furious and storm out of the place.

Now, sitting at the Leaky Cauldron, the man tried to leave his anger behind and actually consider Harry's words.

He was, indeed, a coward. He knew that.

Remus had been trying to convince himself that what he had done, leaving Tonks and his unborn child behind, was for the best, that it was the right thing to do for them. But it was, in fact, a coward move.

He had been afraid that Tonks and her parents would blame him for whatever happened to the child and for the horrible type of life they would have. He had also dreaded that the kid would be ashamed of its father and hate him for what he was and that Tonks, realizing what her life had become, would decide to leave Lupin, taking their child with her. All of those possibilities for the future terrified the man, so he just had decided to leave his family before any of that happened.

Godric Gryffindor would be ashamed of him, he thought.

How could he have been sorted into the Gryffindor house, which its main trait was bravery, and leave his pregnant wife by an act of fear? That had been the most shameful thing he had done in his life.

Thinking back to what Harry had said about what would James want in that situation, Remus realized the boy was right. By assuming Tonks would be much better off without him, Lupin had forgotten about the big picture and what was going on in the wizarding world in that moment.

There was an imminent war and they were constantly being monitored by Death Eaters, living in fear every single day.

They had already lost Sirius, Dumbledore and Mad-Eye. There was no place that could be considered safe now that Voldemort had taken over the Ministry.

In times like these, people should stick together with their families, be each other's protection and not leave them behind, like Lupin had done.

Even in the darkest of days, James and Lily had stayed with Harry, until the end. And his parents too had done everything to give Lupin the best life he could have, even with his condition. They had all stayed together for the sake of their families. Union was the most important thing.

Finishing what was probably his fourth butterbeer, Remus made the decision to get back, to be with his family and protect them at all costs.

Not knowing whether Tonks would forgive him or not, he made his way back to their house, hoping she'd at least let him explain himself.

He looked at his wristwatch and realized he had been at the Leaky Cauldron for almost 3 hours. It had been quite some time since he'd left his and Tonks' house earlier that morning and, if she'd done it like he requested, she'd be at her parents' place, safe and sound. However, as he approached the house, he saw through the window that the lights were on, indicating she hadn't left.

Taking a deep breath, he knocked on the door, thinking she'd probably curse him if he just let himself in.

"Who is it?" He heard her through the door, noticing by the nervous tone in her voice that she thought it was a Death Eater.

"It's me." Lupin answered, hearing a muffled gasp coming through the door. Realizing she needed more validation than that, he kept going. "I'm Remus John Lupin, married to you, Nymphadora Tonks. Member of the Order of the Phoenix. Both of our patronuses are wolves." Then, he added an important information that not many people knew. "And we're having a baby together."

A few seconds later, he heard the door unlocking and saw Tonks staring at him, a little bit shorter than he was

However, before he could get a proper look at his wife, the door closed again, blocking him from entering.

"Wh-? It's really me, Dora." He frowned, confused by her sudden move.

"I know it is." She said. "I just don't want to let you in."

"Fair enough." He sighed, letting his head down, disappointed at himself.

But, before he could say anything else, the door reopened and he was pulled inside by a firm grip on his arm.

"What the hell were you thinking, Remus?!" She closed the door behind them and stared at him with fire in her eyes.

"I wasn't. I wasn't thinking." He shook his head. It was completely fair that she acted like this, he had done a stupid thing. "Dora, please forgive me. I shouldn't have done that, I shouldn't have left you… I regret it deeply."

"Well, you should!" Tonks snapped at him, arms crossed against her chest. She was barefoot and still wore her pajamas - which consisted on a pair of leggings and a big Led Zeppelin t-shirt that had belonged to her father, a big fan of the muggle band -, her blue hair tied up in a knot. The woman had been so disturbed by her husband leaving that she didn't do anything, but wait and see if he got back, not even changing her clothes. And there he was. But, looking at him, instead of feeling happy that he was back, she just felt angry. Angry that he actually dared to leave, in the first place. Seeing in his face that he indeed regretted his decision, her arms dropped by her sides. Sighing loudly, she ran a hand through her messy hair, upset. "Do you know how it made me feel when I read that note of yours, Remus? I thought you were never coming back!"

"I know, I'm sorry, I…" He looked down, not being able to take the disappointed look on Tonks' face anymore. "I let fear get the best of me. Fear that you'd resent me for what I've turned your life into, fear that I'd watch my child have the same tortured life that I had…"

She stared at him and shook her head, frowning. It surprised Tonks that even after being married to her, Lupin didn't understand that the woman loved him and would never resent him for anything. She didn't get how he didn't see how thrilled she was about that pregnancy and how he could only think about what might go wrong, rather than enjoying this gift life had given them.

"Look, you listen to me." She made a sudden move and grabbed him closer by his sweater, startling her husband. "You need to understand that we're in this together, Remus." Tonks told him, looking in his eyes, dead serious. "Stop feeling sorry for yourself and realize that this is your life now." She stuck her index finger on his chest, pointing out what she was saying. "Yes, you are loved. So loved." He saw the tenderness in her eyes as she spoke, noticing she meant every word of it. "And we're having a baby together. This is our family. And no matter what happens, we need to stick together. Now more than ever." He nodded, to show her he agreed. "You need to stop doing 'what's best for me'." She did the inverted commas with her fingers, quoting him. "I'm a grown woman and I can damn well decide what I'm gonna do with my life." Lupin nodded again, an amused little smile lingering on his lips at how fierce his wife was. "And this is what I chose." She motioned between the two of them. "So, you need to accept it, because I'm not changing my mind!"

Tonks finally let go of his clothes and stared at him, fuming.

After a while in silence looking at each other, she sighed. Lifting up her shirt a bit, she picked his hand in hers and placed it on top of her small bump.

"Our baby is going to be just fine." She met his eyes and gave him a half smile, seeing him nodding at her words, finally taking it in. "As long as you're here, we're all going to be fine."

She came closer to him and felt his arms embracing her waist, like he'd never again make the mistake of letting her go. With their foreheads touching, the couple breathed in each other's scents, together again.

"I know." He said and she knew he was talking about everything she'd said, that now he was finally aware of all of it. "Please, forgive me."

Then, he felt her lips on his, hungry for him as she put her arms around his neck and he pulled her closer by the waist, both of them involved in that passionate and long kiss, giving to each other everything they got.

With that kiss, Lupin realized that, just like she had said yes to marrying him with a passionate kiss, she had now forgiven him from running away.

When they were finally out of breath, their lips slowly separated from each other with Nymphadora biting on Remus' bottom lip, not wanting for the kiss to end.

She moved her head back a bit and looked him in the eye, that determined expression on her face.

"Now, don't you _ever_ leave me again, Remus Lupin!" She said between her teeth, hitting Remus' chest to point out every word.

"I won't." He held her face in his hands, looking at her tenderly. Lupin didn't know if he could bare being away from her again and, by seeing her basically threatening him, he wouldn't even dare to do so. "I promise you. I'll never leave the two of you again." He placed his right hand on her bump. "From now on, whatever happens, I'll be by your side."

She let out a little smile, but didn't take the determined expression on her face.

"Good." She said, a defiant pose as she looked at her husband up and down with hands on her hips. "Now, take me to bed."

"What?" He chuckled, wondering if she was being serious.

"You heard me." Nymphadora raised her eyebrows at him, still dead serious. "You almost abandoned me and your unborn child. You owe me sex, Remus."

He snorted, keeping himself from laughing out loud. Lupin couldn't believe that amazing woman was his wife. She actually chose him to build a family with.

In a swift move, he pulled her up by the waist and she wrapped her legs around his torso. As he took her to the bedroom, he delighted on the sound of her beautiful laugh in his ear.

They were gonna be okay.

* * *

It was full moon.

Nymphadora had never actually been with Remus during a full moon, since they had married just a few weeks before and hadn't lived together before their wedding, also having had a short time of dating.

So, Tonks didn't quite know how to deal with it, she just knew she had to be there for him.

Lupin came home that afternoon explaining he'd go to an abandoned place he had found on the countryside, far away from the city, where he'd chain himself, so he wouldn't accidentally hurt anyone.

She spent the entire evening worried sick about her husband, not even being able to sleep properly, just taking a few naps here and there.

When she finally heard the door being unlocked, an hour after it had started to dawn, the woman hurried to the living room and saw Lupin more hurt than she'd ever seen.

He was limping and holding onto the walls for support, his clothes with many rips on them, showing clear and bloody claw marks on his chest and abdomen. His face also had a few deep cuts and blood was running down his forehead and cheek. The worst of it all was that Tonks knew he had done all of that to himself, trying to control the wild animal that was inside of him.

The woman had never seen him look this bad and, for a moment, she could only stare at him in shock until reality hit her and she rushed to help him to the couch.

He laid there, his face twitching in pain as she trembled looking for her wand, casting the best healing spells she knew to help his wounds heal faster. Once she was done with them, Nymphadora saw his face relaxing a bit, as the pain got easier to handle, but it still wasn't enough, since some of the wounds remained fresh.

"Th-The dittany…" Lupin was able to murmur to his wife, pointing at a little cupboard they had on the living room.

"Right! Right…" She nervously rushed to the cupboard and looked through it, a sting of pain in her heart every time she heard her husband groaning on the couch. Finally finding the little bottle, she realized it was almost empty, but fortunately just a few drops of it would suffice.

Dropping the essence on Lupin's worst wounds, the woman sighed in relief as she saw them quickly closing and looking like they were days old, the man's face finally relaxing completely as the pain went away.

He kept his eyes shut, steadying his breath.

"This time was much harder than the previous ones." He commented in a low voice, trying to recover himself. "I hadn't had it this hard for a very long time."

"Oh wow." She kept sitting on the edge of the couch, holding his hand and caressing his knuckles with her thumb. Lupin rarely ever talked about his full moon experiences with her and she was glad he decided to do it now, share a little more.

"I think I heard a woman outside of the place I was staying…" He said, finally opening his eyes to see if he saw fear in his wife's expression, but all he saw was concern, a deep concern for his well-being. "She wasn't supposed to be there, it was a very isolated place… The animal wanted to attack her, so I just attacked myself instead, trying my hardest to stay put."

He saw Nymphadora's tender eyes smiling at him.

"See? You have control over yourself. You're not a beast."

Lupin didn't know what to say to that. He didn't actually agree with her, he really thought that the creature he became every full moon was, in fact, a beast, but it was nice hearing that from her.

She slowly ran her fingers through his scars in formation, delicate enough not to hurt him.

"A few more to the collection." He joked, but his face was serious.

"They're a part of you and show how much strong you are. So, I love them just as much."

They kept looking at each other for a few seconds before Tonks suddenly jumped, remembering something.

"Oh, I got this for you!" She grabbed something in her bag and came back to him with a big Honeydukes' chocolate bar, knowing it was his favorite. "Eat it, it'll make you feel better."

She gave him a little wink, being aware that he recommended this to Harry on basically every Patronus class of theirs and the man actually chuckled out loud, doing as he was told.

God, what did he do to deserve that woman?

That was actually a constant question in his mind, but it came to him even more when he got home one day and came across Kingsley Shacklebolt sitting on his couch, a little bit fatter than he used to be.

"What…?" Lupin frowned as he closed the door behind him, confused.

"Hi there, Remus." Kingsley, who was reading the paper before his colleague arrived, said with his usual formal voice. "Tonks said she had to go to her parents' place for a couple of hours and told me to make myself at home, since I needed to talk to you."

"What's going on?" Lupin still found the situation a bit strange, but let his guard down.

"Oh, nothing, I just wanted to see you, you know?" The man stood up and came closer to him, looking at Lupin with a different expression on his face, one he had never seen before in Kingsley. "I like being with you, Remus. And talking to you…" He came even closer to Lupin and looked deeply into his eyes, a little smile hanging on his lips.

Lupin had a big frown on his forehead, completely confused as to what was going on. But, as the black man began to reach for his hand, finally something clicked in him and he understood.

"Dora…" He shook his head, sighing. He should've known by the second Kingsley started talking to him.

"What?" Kingsley pretended to be surprised. "Look, I know you're worried about Tonks' feelings, but she told me she's okay with it, as long as you feel the same way. And you do, don't you? She even told me she always thought you and Sirius had a thing going on back in the school days…"

Lupin tried to contain his laughter to let her know he wasn't kidding, but couldn't, his wife was very creative.

"Okay, that's enough. Go back to your normal self." He requested, still chuckling.

"What? Don't you love me, Remus?" Tonks still kept pretending, showing an upset Kingsley. "We spend so much time together, I thought…"

Remus rolled his eyes and decided to play along.

"Actually, Kingsley, I'm really sorry, you're a great guy. But, I'd take my funny, beautiful, pink-haired wife anytime." He smiled.

"You forgot hot." Tonks/Kingsley pointed out.

"Very hot." He chuckled.

"That's the right answer." She said, before squinting her eyes a bit and turning back to her normal self. Pink hair, just as Lupin said, some jeans and a black tank top under a leather jacket. "What gave me away? Was it the bump? It must've been the bump." Tonks looked down at her bump. She was already around 20 weeks pregnant, so her round belly was very visible through her tank top. And, as Lupin had noticed, it was also visible when she was in Kingsley's body. "I can easily change from a skinny person to a much overweight one and the other way around as well, but I can't seem to hide my bump in any form I take." She kept looking at her belly as she spoke. "Damn you, baby."

Lupin looked at her bump as well, seeing how big it looked. Even after eschewing a bunch of missions of the Order so he could spend more time at home taking care of Tonks and seeing that bump everyday, he still was shocked at how fast their baby was growing, which meant they soon would have it in their arms and that was, at the same time, a terrifying, but exciting feeling.

"Maybe it's because the baby is a living thing, so it can't be hidden." Lupin analyzed at the same time as he raised his eyebrows at her, in a sign of reprimand. "So, stop forcing our child into Kingsley's body, please."

"Well, Kingsley should be honored to have our child inside him." She pointed out, matter-of-factly, while her arms went around his neck and he passed his own around her waist.

"Please don't tell him any of this." Remus asked, thinking about the sake of his colleague. "I know him, he'll be really embarrassed."

"That's exactly why I'll tell him." Tonks giggled, but seeing Lupin giving her a serious look, she sighed. "Fine, I won't. But only if you show me you prefer me over Kingsley or Sirius by kissing me."

Remus laughed out loud.

"Gladly." And he did. By more than kissing, actually.

* * *

A few days later, Tonks' parents told them they'd be visiting the couple for lunch, which they accepted gladly.

Andromeda and Ted arrived with baby clothes and toys, to which Remus and Nymphadora thanked them deeply. Lupin even laughed out loud when he saw the little stuffed wolf they had given the baby.

"I never thought I'd be this excited to be a grandmother." Andromeda commented as they finished their meals. "Actually, I never thought I'd _be_ a grandmother." She giggled. "Nymphadora has always been so all over the place and focused on her job as an Auror that I didn't know if she'd settle one day."

"Hey, I dated, okay?" Tonks argued, looking a bit offended.

"Yeah, but you couldn't even define those as relationships, honey." Her mother said, still giggling. "There was that shy boy in your school days. Hmm, Robert? I think that was his name. I only remember he was a Ravenclaw and you quickly dumped him because he was too nerdy, I suppose?"

"And boring as hell." Tonks added, making her husband chuckle. Lupin had never heard about his wife's previous relationships and was quite amused to hear it from her parents.

"There was also that one from your Auror training that didn't want to be with you anymore because you were better than him…?" Ted remembered, looking at his daughter to see if he got the facts straight.

"Yup." She nodded, laughing about the situation. "I actually liked him, but he couldn't take me being more skilled than him, so I didn't care so much when he dumped me. I could never be with a man who doesn't like to see me succeeding." She shrugged, taking a few last bites from her food, not noticing how Lupin admired her with loving eyes.

"I think there was like, one more after that, but that was it for 'significant relationships'. So, you can see why I was surprised when suddenly you told me you got married in secret." Andromeda said, raising her eyebrows for the couple to notice she hadn't actually forgiven them both.

"C'mon, mom, I've told you we didn't mean to exclude you guys." Tonks defended themselves. "It was an act of impulse."

"Yes, Andromeda, I really apologize for it, we decided to do it right there and then." Lupin added.

"It's okay, I get it." The woman said. "I just wanted an excuse for a party to wear this beautiful gown that I have in my closet." She giggled, shrugging. "Oh well, I guess I'll have to wait for my grandchild's wedding, then."

They all laughed as the woman got up to help Remus take the dishes to the kitchen while Tonks and her father engaged in a conversation.

"You make my daughter very happy, Remus." Andromeda told him, once Tonks couldn't hear them. "I've never seen her like this." She commented. "Me and my husband saw last year how much you meant to her. She was miserable by not being with you and it took us a while to understand what was happening. But I'm glad you two got together."

Lupin smiled at the woman. It made the world for him to hear those words, since he had always thought Tonks' parents secretly resented him for not being the "normal" man they had imagined her to be with.

"I've made many mistakes too." He said, talking about how he rejected being with Tonks and how that made her miserable and also about leaving her and their baby, which Andromeda and Ted didn't know it had happened, since their daughter hadn't told them. "I should've never caused this amount of misery to Tonks. She doesn't deserve it and it definitely wasn't my intention."

Once they put the dishes in the sink, Andromeda stepped up to cast some cleaning spells, making the dishes to start washing themselves, cleaned plates flying around the counter to place themselves in the cupboard.

"Well, you came around." She sighed, smiling at him, once she was done with the spells, turning her face to admire her work as quickly the things in the kitchen were being cleaned and put back to their places. She turned back to her son-in-law and squeezed his shoulder in a reassuring way. "That's what matters."

Lupin smiled back at her and they both returned to the dining room, where Tonks and her father were still sitting at the table.

As soon as they heard the other two approaching, Tonks turned to her mother, a big frown on her forehead.

"Dad is leaving?!"

"Oh, here we go." Andromeda sighed and sat back on the chair, like she was expecting that reaction from her daughter.

"Dora, I…" Ted tried to explain, but Nymphadora interrupted him.

"So, this is why you came here, then? To tell me you made this stupid decision to leave." She crossed her arms on top of her bump, highlighting how big it was getting.

"I'm sorry, what is going on?" Lupin asked as he sat down across from his wife, feeling weird to be meddling in that family feud, but not understanding one bit of what was happening.

"My dad decided to leave and keep running away from the Ministry, changing locations every day like a fugitive!" Tonks explained, her expression showing she found that an insane idea.

"Well, that's what I am!" Ted exclaimed back at his daughter. "Dora, we have to face the facts here. Muggle-borns are no longer safe now that You-Know-Who has taken over the Ministry. They will haunt us down, every single one of us."

"We can protect you!" She raised her voice, refusing to believe that running away was the only option. "Remus and I and some other people from the Order, we can keep you safe!"

"Honey, you, Remus and everyone from the Order are outstanding wizards. I know that, I've seen it." Ted kept his voice low, trying to make his daughter calm down. "But, this is the Dark Lord and his army we're talking about. Powerful dark magic." He took her hand in his, caressing it with his thumb and looking into her eyes so she'd understand his point. "They have snatchers onto us. They will _not_ stop until they take every single one of us. And I won't have you, any of you, risk your lives because of me."

"Well, you're worth it!" Tonks said, making her dad smile.

"I know I am." He winked at her. "But you're pregnant, Dora. I will refuse to have you fight for me whilst carrying my grandchild." The man rested his back against the chair. "This is the only option we have."

"He's right, Dora. You know he is." Lupin spoke and she saw the compassionate look in his eyes. "He'll be fine. Ted is a great wizard."

With Remus' reassurance, Tonks sighed, resting her back on her chair as well, in a sign of defeat. She knew they were right, but she just wasn't ready to say goodbye, not knowing what could possibly happen to her father once he was out there all alone.

"You just take care of that baby there." Ted said, pointing to her bump. "And if I'm still away by the time he's born, you send me a picture."

Tonks rested her head on her hand, looking sideways to her dad with a smile on her lips.

"He?"

"Yeah, I don't know why, I have a feeling it's a boy." He winked at her, getting closer to his daughter so he could give her a kiss on the temple.

After half an hour of more catching up, Andromeda and Ted decided it was time to leave. Tonks hugged him really tight, like she did when she was a little girl and the man kissed her bump, saying his goodbyes and turning to get one last look of his pregnant daughter before he disapparated.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's note: Hey guys! Just wanted to say that the little sweater plot in this chapter is based on this tumblr post I saw and thought it was too cute haha post/94306603986/remus-never-once-asking-tonks-to-change-her**

* * *

It was early December and Christmas was coming, but with the whole tension of Voldemort's uprisal, nobody felt Christmassy at all, thinking of ways to survive that whole war, instead.

The Order of the Phoenix had decided to cut down the amount of meetings they had, since joining the big group of targeted people by the Ministry wasn't that safe anymore. However, they still met occasionally when there was a big decision and plans to be made.

Lupin was getting dressed one morning to attend the Order meeting at the Burrow that day, but stopped putting on his coat when he saw his wife all dressed up in her winter clothes coming down the hallway, ready to join him.

"What are you doing?" He asked, frowning. "You can't come with me."

"Why not?" Tonks questioned him, confused.

"Well, because..." He motioned to her bump, which was even bigger, its size being enhanced by the two shirts and a heavy green overcoat she was wearing. Winter had been pretty harsh that year.

"Because I'm pregnant?!" She exclaimed, outraged. Her hormones had been all over the place lately, making her more irritated than she usually was. "Just because I'm pregnant and not an Auror anymore, doesn't mean I'm no longer useful to the Order, Remus!"

"I didn't say that, that's not what I meant at all." He rushed to defend himself, afraid she'd get any angrier. "It's just that it's been pretty dangerous out there, anything can happen nowadays, so don't you think it'd be best if you just stayed at home?"

"No." She quickly answered, matter-of-factly. "We'll apparate right at the Burrow, no danger at all." The woman shrugged, like it was that simple.

Seeing there was no arguing with her that day, Lupin sighed and nodded.

The couple arrived at the Burrow and was soon greeted heartedly by Molly Weasley. Tonks hadn't attended the few previous Order meetings and there had been quite some time since she saw those people, so basically all of them kept commenting on how big she was getting, the baby talk being basically the only topic of conversation that brought them a bit of joy at those dark times. Tonks and Lupin's child had become some sort of hope for the people at the Order, like something good could actually come out of all that.

Even though Tonks couldn't actually help the Order by being on the field, going after some wizards and creatures who could help them in the imminent battle, she was excellent at the meeting by making great suggestions and planning the group approaches, even impressing her husband, to whom she gave a look of "I told you so".

When the meeting was over, a few of the Order members had an important task to do at the Ministry and Remus would go along with them, which would take basically the rest of the day.

"Okay, I'm going, but you stay here, alright?" He approached his wife when the meeting was over and people were talking and saying goodbye to each other around them. "Wait for me to get back and I'll pick you up for us to go home."

"What? Why?" She frowned, confused at his request. "Why can't I just disapparate now?"

"It's just… It's better this way." Remus scratched his head, failing to explain to her why he thought it'd be better. "Just… Please, can you do this?"

Tonks noticed how important that was for him and, even thinking he was being overprotective, she decided to let it go.

"Fine." She sighed, smiling when he gave her a kiss on the temple before turning to leave.

"Hey." Tonks grabbed his arm, stopping him. "Come back, okay?"

Ever since Lupin had left her months before, every time he left her to do some task or meet someone, Tonks asked him to come back to her, afraid of being left alone again.

Seeing the sudden seriousness in her tone of voice, Lupin gave her a reassuring smile, nodding.

"I will."

She nodded back at him and kissed him goodbye, then joining Molly who was preparing tea and some snacks for the ones who stayed at the Burrow.

"I guess I'll have to stay with you and Arthur, Molly." Tonks told her, helping out the woman and trying her hardest to not drop any plates or tea-cups in the process. "Remus asked me to wait for him here." She rolled her eyes. "So, sorry about that."

Molly saw the girl rolling her eyes and giggled.

"He's just being protective, sweetie. Arthur was the same when I was pregnant with Bill." She told her. "Then, with Charlie he relaxed a bit more and by the third child he didn't even bother me anymore 'cause he knew I could take care of myself." Molly shrugged, serving tea for them both and motioning for Tonks to join her in the living room couch. "They're men, Tonks. Being overprotective like this makes them feel more engaged in the pregnancy."

"Yeah, I know." Tonks said, drinking her tea. "I find it kind of cute, actually."

"So, how is the baby?" Molly asked, sitting up straight, excited.

"Oh, it's great!" Tonks automatically gave the woman a big smile, she was very excited as well. "Actually, I think I started to feel the baby kicking. It's just a tiny movement, but I feel it. It's very weird, but awesome at the same time." She said, excited. "Remus still can't feel it, though."

"Oh, he will soon." Molly told her. "And what about the nausea? Did that potion I sent you make you feel better?"

"Yes, it did! Thank you so much for it, Molly, really. That was like a blessing. I was feeling very nauseous every single day and I complained about it to Remus constantly and he got upset because there was nothing he could do about it… But that potion worked wonders, seriously. It immediately stopped all the nausea." She said, talking about the little purple bottle Molly had given her through an owl when Tonks was around 6 weeks pregnant.

"Those little bottles helped me throughout all of my pregnancies. I don't know what I'd be without them." Molly commented. "It's actually an old recipe from my Aunt Muriel. She gave it to me when I was in my first pregnancy and I held onto that recipe for dear life."

Both women laughed, talking more about pregnancy for a few minutes since Molly was an actual expert in the subject.

"Oh, Molly, I have something to ask you. A favour." Tonks said, when they were done talking about pregnancy. "If it's not too much, of course…"

"Of course not, sweetie, what is it?"

"Well, it's kind of silly." The girl giggled, looking down at her tea-cup. "But I was wondering if you could teach me how to knit? Remus is such a fan of sweaters, I wanted to make him one for Christmas."

"That's a great idea, Tonks! Of course I'll teach you, no problem at all!" Molly exclaimed. The woman, then, excitedly got up from the couch and grabbed her knitting kit: a box with colorful wools, needles, scissors and everything you could possibly need to knit. Sitting back down on the couch, she sighed, admiring her precious stuff. "Here you go. Everything we'll need is in here. Just choose your color."

"Oh, so we're starting now?" Tonks widened her eyes in surprise, adjusting herself on the couch. To be honest, she was kind of nervous of messing up, but wanted to make this herself and not ask Molly to do it for her, even though, looking at all that stuff in the box, she thought it looked like a puzzle. Tonks was definitely gonna hurt herself with those needles, she was sure of that.

Molly spent a good twenty minutes trying to make Tonks hold the needle the proper way and finally make her first stitches. But, after quite some time, the girl started to get the hang of it and was able to properly knit.

Once her product was starting to take a form, Molly said she could now charm the needles so they could knit all alone and much faster, she just had to focus on the exact stitches and pattern she wanted them to make. She went with the basic patterns, which were the only ones she knew how to make, at least for now.

When Remus arrived to pick up Tonks, the sweater wasn't even halfway done. The woman quickly dropped the charm on the needles and put it in a bag for her to take home, promising Molly she'd give them back to her once she was done with it, thanking her multiples time for her help.

For the rest of the days coming up to Christmas, whenever Remus wasn't home, Tonks knitted his sweater a bit more, getting lost and forgetting what to do a few times, but completely focused on finishing her task before the holidays.

On Christmas eve, the couple had dinner at their place with Andromeda Tonks and Lyall Lupin, Remus' father, who Nymphadora had met only once before. Ted Tonks was still on the run, making the two Tonks' women very apprehensive, even though it felt good not to hear or read his name on any of the dead people's list.

Christmas that year felt a little lonely and sadder for Tonks, not having her father there with her for the first time. However, she loved to spend the night with Remus' dad, know him more and hear what her husband was as a child and teenager, along with Peter Pettigrew and the rebels James Potter and Sirius Black. Fortunately, hearing and laughing about all of those stories made her mind abstract from her father's absence a little more.

The next morning, Lupin and Tonks stayed in bed until later than they were used to, cuddling and making out, since there was no Order tasks or work to go to, planning on taking the day off from all the madness that was happening in the wizarding world.

"Wait, I want to give you my gift." Nymphadora stopped her husband from kissing her neck, to which he moaned in complaint.

"Why are you getting up? We could just stay in bed all day, getting warm, it's very cold." He pointed out, frowning at the sudden lack of physical touch once his wife got up, looking for something hidden in her drawer.

"I'm excited for you to see it!" She exclaimed, smiling. Tonks looked radiant that day, Lupin noticed. Her hair was dark red to match the Christmas theme, with bangs on her forehead and a wavy length, going up to her shoulders. Along with that, she was wearing a grey sweater with snowflakes on them, so long that it went up to her knees, and black leggings. It was an adorable look, different from the badass ones she liked to wear so often. Remus loved them all, but couldn't help and admire his adorable wife, her big bump touching the edge of the drawer whilst she looked through it.

Going back to the bed, the woman sat down on her knees and handed her husband a medium-sized package with green and red wrapping paper, her big smile never leaving her face.

Remus sat up against his pillow, taking the package from her hands, and chuckled at the excited expression she had, anxious for him to open it up.

Carefully tearing the wrapping paper, because he knew his wife had taken some effort to find the right one, he opened it to find a bright red sweater, which he quickly noticed there was a few stitches wrongly placed and a few small holes in it, along with the fact that it looked probably two sizes smaller than he was.

"I made it myself!" She grinned widely from ear to ear, like a kid. Feeling his heart warming in his chest that she'd do that for him, Lupin smiled back at his wife.

"I love it, Dora. Thank you so much." He said, genuinely. Leaning a bit, he gave her a small kiss, gently holding onto her chin with his thumb and index finger.

"C'mon, put it on!"

Lupin did as asked and, struggling a little bit since the sweater was quite tight in his chest and arms, he was able to put it on.

"Hmm, I guess there are a few mistakes there." Tonks said, analyzing what the sweater looked like on him. "I could've done better."

"It's perfect, really, Dora." He reassured her. Lupin wasn't actually pretending, he loved the fact that she thought about learning something completely new and making this for him. He didn't even care if there were holes in it or if it didn't fit perfectly, he was going to wear it a lot of times. The man just wished he'd made something for her as well.

Getting up from the bed and picking up his present from beneath the Christmas tree they had put it up in the living room, Lupin went back to the bedroom with a small package in his hands.

"I wish I had made you something too, but you know I'm not very crafty…" He chuckled slightly, giving her the package. "It's small, but I thought you'd enjoy it."

Opening up the wrapping paper with an excited expression, Tonks' mouth opened in an 'O' and then turned into a big smile. She was holding a light wooden music box that, when you opened it, very vivid miniatures of the Weird Sisters appeared, playing their big hits. That was Tonks' favorite band and she was thrilled that now she could just open the box and listen to their favorite songs non-stop.

Remus knew he'd get annoyed of listening to the same songs over and over again around the house, like he knew she'd do, but he just couldn't resist buying her that.

"There's also this." He grabbed a tiny package from his bedside table and handed it to her. In it, there was a delicate silver bracelet with one single pendant hanging from it: a wolf. Looking at it, Tonks' eyes brightened while she analyzed every detail of the wolf and the bracelet, in awe by how beautiful it was. "Being a werewolf is a part of me. It took me a long time to accept and realize that." Remus spoke, also looking at the bracelet. "Throughout my whole life I was scared of it, of me. I hated myself for it. Every single day. It was like a curse that kept me from finding happiness. And then you came." He looked up at her, speaking honestly, and their eyes met. "I was shocked that, despite being cursed, I had found happiness. Even when we were not together, just being around you made me happy. And it was the first time I felt that way in my entire life. But, most of all, you accepted me. Werewolf and all. Like I'd never accepted myself before." He told Tonks, who was now smiling, her eyes watering at his words. "I tried to deny that you felt that way about me, I couldn't believe it. But you kept proving me wrong everyday, showing me that you love me just the way I am. That I was not unworthy just because I'm a werewolf. So, then, I started believing in it too." He half smiled, looking down at the bracelet. "I accept myself now and I'm happy with my life because I have you. And soon, someone else as well." He pointed to her bump, smiling. "So, I decided to give you this bracelet because yes, I am a werewolf. Both our patronuses are wolves and that means something. So, it's a symbol, an animal that I no longer hate. I'm in control of myself and now I can finally see it as a part of me. And I wanted it to be with you because _you_ were the one who made me see it. You did this."

Remus looked up to Tonks' face to realize that she was silently crying, tears falling down her cheeks as she stared at her husband, a smile on her lips and admiration in her eyes.

"Remus…" Nymphadora shook her head while tears kept on falling, not knowing what to say. She then just jumped on her husband and hugged him, as tight as her bump would let her. Lupin sighed in delight and buried his head in the crook of her neck, taking in her scent and the gentle caress she was doing on the back of his neck.

The couple stayed hugging for a few more seconds, then decided to have breakfast in bed and spend the morning just talking about anything other than Voldemort and his Death Eaters.

When it was around lunch time, they finally got off bed and went to the living room to open gifts they had from Tonks' mother, Lupin's dad and their friends.

"Oh my God, Remus! Look at this!" Nymphadora exclaimed, pulling on her husband's sweater sleeve from the floor where she was sitting by the tree, like a little child. In her hands was Molly Weasley's present to their baby: a little light blue newborn knitted onesie with a hoodie and tiny ears on it, with an L of Lupin on the center of it. It was the first piece of clothing they had for their baby and it made Tonks all bubbly with happiness inside.

* * *

It was a wednesday and Tonks was almost 32 weeks pregnant when they heard.

Ted Tonks had been killed.

Lupin was with Bill Weasley when he received Nymphadora's wolf patronus, the same one he had, telling him to come home. Just that, no other word. And yet, he knew what had happened.

Ever since Ted had left, both the couple and Tonks' mom had been silently dreading getting bad news about the man's whereabouts, knowing that being out there all alone with no protection whilst being haunted by the Ministry was a dangerous situation, even if he was a great wizard.

When Lupin apparated, after quickly saying his goodbyes to Bill, and opened the door to their house, he saw his wife taking care of a devastated Andromeda on the couch.

Stopping at the front door, the man analyzed the situation. The older woman was hiding her face between her hands, her elbows standing on her knees, with loud sobs coming from her throat while her entire body was shaking. Lupin realized he'd never seen his mother-in-law so destroyed like that, since the woman was always classy and well-mannered, strong like a rock. It actually frightened him to see her in that state.

Meanwhile, her daughter was sitting beside her, slowly caressing the long brown hair that splayed along Andromeda's back, trying to calm her down. A full and untouched cup of tea had been placed on the coffee table in front of her mother and Lupin realized his wife had probably made it for her. Nymphadora's eyes were red with dark circles under them and her bottom lip was trembling, like she wanted to cry really hard, but was being strong for her mother.

They had received the news about an hour before from a family friend who had been keeping track of the Death Eaters' and Snatchers' traces and murders and, ever since Andromeda knocked at Remus and Nymphadora's place to tell her daughter the awful news, the young woman had let aside all of her feelings to take care of her mom, being as strong as she could and only allowing herself to cry whenever she excused herself to go to the bathroom.

As soon as Tonks noticed her husband had arrived, she ran to his arms, hugging him tight.

With her face buried in the crook of his neck and feeling the protection of his embrace, Nymphadora finally let herself feel the pain of losing her father, her tears quickly soaking Remus' collar.

She had always been the closest to her father. Ted Tonks had been the greatest man Nymphadora had ever met, not letting people let him down about being a muggle-born and, above all, being true to his love for Andromeda, trying his hardest to protect her from her family when the woman made the brave decision to leave them for him. His priorities in life had always been his wife and child and he had always done everything in his power to give them the best life they could have.

Nymphadora had a great childhood and teenage years, always feeling like she could tell her father anything. She knew she could count on her mother as well, but Andromeda was more strict, trying, and not succeeding, to make her daughter behave. In her father, Tonks found laughter, trust and affection. And now, remembering she'd never see his smile again, the woman felt herself get weaker.

Remus tightened his embrace around his wife, who was now sobbing in his arms, seeing as she let out all of her feelings. With an arm around her waist, he helped her back to the couch and sat beside her as he watched her try to keep the tears from coming, running her hand through her face. He felt powerless. The man wished he could do something to ease her pain, like she had done with him after his werewolf nights, but there was nothing he could do. Just be there for her.

"He won't even meet his grandchild." Nymphadora said with a hoarse voice, out of nowhere, looking at the ceiling while her hand went to her huge bump.

She and Andromeda both stayed silent for a long time while the tears slowly stopped coming and dried on their faces, thinking about what their lives would be like from now on.

"Ted wouldn't want us to be like this." Andromeda said, after a long time of silence, sitting up straight.

"No, he wouldn't." Nymphadora gave her mom a half smile, thinking that if her father saw them crying on the couch like that, he'd probably demand them to get up and do something productive with their day.

Both women got up from the couch and went on to cook lunch and set the table while Remus helped them around. They didn't talk much throughout the day, the heavy atmosphere of their loss still in the house, but tried to act as normally as possible. At around 6 pm, Tonks reminded her husband of his scheduled meet-up with Lee Jordan at the Potterwatch to which the woman insisted he should go, even though Remus argued that he should be with her, saying that he had a duty and people deserved to know about her father's death, be aware of what was going on in the wizarding world.

"Come back, okay?" Tonks asked him, just like she did whenever she needed reassurance of his presence ever since he had left her to join Harry. Only this time, she had a sad look on her face, needing that reassurance more than ever.

"I always will." He spoke, looking into her eyes. Giving her hand a little squeeze, Lupin kissed her on the cheek and left.

* * *

Their son was born on a sunny day of April of 1998.

Nymphadora was asleep the moment the contractions first hit her. She slowly got up on the bed, leaning on the mattress for support, given she was the heaviest she'd ever been. Looking through the window, she realized it was starting to dawn. Still a bit confused to what was going on, Tonks only realized she was in labor when another contraction hit her, causing her to wake up her husband.

"What? What's going on?" The man sat up straight, trying to see his wife through the darkness of the room.

"I think it's happening, Remus. The baby is coming." She squinted her face as the contraction slowly faded, holding onto her bump.

"What?! Oh my God!" Lupin suddenly jumped out of bed, getting lost for a few seconds about what he needed to do first, but then quickly turning on the lights and going to the guests room to wake up his mother-in-law, who had been staying with them ever since Ted had died, not wanting to be at her house all by herself.

Less than two minutes later, Andromeda and Lupin were running around the house, calling the midwife to deliver the baby and getting some clean towels, even arguing about what they needed to do first. Meanwhile, Nymphadora stayed lying in bed completely calm, only grunting in pain when the contractions came, to which Remus quickly ran to her side to hold her hand.

Things got harder for Nymphadora when the contractions started to get worse, but even then she didn't lose control, only getting annoyed by her mother ordering around and her husband's sudden freak out. She never thought she'd be the sane one during birth, but Tonks had never felt more ready.

The baby was finally born, 12 hours after the contractions started, and Tonks didn't even realize the tears that were falling from her sweaty face when she took her son in her arms for the first time.

He had his eyes closed and moved his fists up and down while he cried.

The room was silent apart from the baby's cries as the family stared at the black-haired newborn in complete awe.

"Wow Nymphadora he's just… He's beautiful." Andromeda dried her tears with the back of her hand whilst admiring her daughter and grandson from across the room.

"He is…" Tonks agreed with a big smile on her face, caressing her son's chubby cheeks and slowly rocking him in her arms, calming him down. The woman had never felt that happy in her entire life. She didn't think being a mother would fulfill her like this, but in that moment, looking at her son while he opened his light brown eyes and stared back at her, she felt like the happiest woman on earth. The amount of love she was feeling was immeasurable and she thought it could actually burst out of her, if that was possible.

"He is very healthy." The midwife announced, after gathering the used towels. The woman had quickly analysed the baby with her wand before handing him to the mother. Then, turning to Lupin, aware of his main concern, she said: "And no signs of lycanthropy on him… Although, he seems to be something else…" The midwife pointed to the baby, who had now stopped crying and just stared at his mother while she distractedly smiled at him and shook his chubby fists. The tips of his hair were turning brown, contrasting with the black on the rest.

Lupin let out a chuckle along with a big sigh of relief as he ran his hand through his hair, the smile not leaving his lips.

Andromeda thanked and accompanied the midwife to the living room to see her out and pay the woman, realizing her daughter needed some alone time with her family.

Lupin went around the bed and slowly sat on the empty side, leaning his back on the pillows while he watched his wife and son not taking their eyes off each other.

Nymphadora finally looked up from the baby and locked eyes with her husband, big smiles plastering both of their faces.

"I love him. And I love you." Were the first words Lupin said that night, while taking a strand of Nymphadora's pink hair away from her face. "Thank you for this. You were amazing today."

The young woman grinned at his words.

"With you here, it was very easy."

She looked down at the baby, who was now sleeping peacefully in her arms, and carefully passed him to Remus.

The man quickly straightened himself and adjusted his son in his arms, afraid he'd let him fall, but the baby boy just yawned and moved his little arms a bit.

"There's your _healthy_ son." Nymphadora leaned her head on Remus' shoulders, not taking her eyes from the sleeping baby.

"I'm so glad…" Lupin said. Hearing his son was not a werewolf and wouldn't have to go through the same torment he had to his whole life was the best news he could get. "So, what shall we name him?"

"Ted?" Nymphadora looked up at her husband, wondering if he'd be okay with it. "My father's not here to see him, he's not gonna know his grandson, so I thought…"

"Ted it is." Lupin interrupted her, agreeing to it already. Giving him a big smile, Tonks leaned in to give her husband a kiss, placing a hand on his cheek and caressing it with her thumb.

"So, is everything okay, do you guys need…? Oh, I'm sorry." Andromeda said as she got in the room and realized she had interrupted the couple.

"No worries, mom. Come here." Tonks motioned to her mother to sit on the side of the bed and Lupin handed her the baby. "Mom, meet your grandson, Ted Remus Lupin."

Andromeda widened her eyes at the couple, looking from the baby to them, in surprise. Then, tears started to fall from her eyes and she held the baby tighter to her chest, giving him a loving kiss on the forehead.

The family spent the next two hours enjoying the new baby, listening to Andromeda's advices on how to raise a child and talking, in which Lupin suggested Harry Potter to be Teddy's godfather, since it was the young man who led Remus back to their family with his harsh, but needed words and Tonks accepted right away, thinking there was no other choice better than Harry for this.

It was Nymphadora who reminded Remus he should let the others know the baby had been born and was healthy, insisting they would be just fine with her mother when her husband refused to leave her and his newborn son. It delighted her to see how things had changed. Lupin, who had once abandoned them, was now refusing to leave their side at all costs.

"Are you sure?" He asked her, apprehensive, looking at Teddy, who had just finished breastfeeding and was slowly drifting back to sleep. Looking at his head, he realized the baby's hair was almost ginger now.

"We'll be totally fine, he's sleeping." She motioned to the baby in her arms, who now had his eyes shut and his mouth hanging open. "And I know I don't even need to ask you to come back this time." Nymphadora pointed out, giving him a smile. She had never seen Remus so blissful. The man was eager to be around them and do anything he could to help her out, so she knew he'd be back sooner than she expected.

Lupin nodded and gave both wife and son one last kiss before leaving to Shell Cottage tell Bill Weasley and the others the good news.

* * *

Although messy, Tonks and Lupin were enjoying the parenting life quite a lot. Even with all the crying and the sleepless nights, Teddy brought joy to their lives everyday, which felt much better after all the darkness they were going through in the wizarding world. The couple could even forget about whatever was going on outside whenever their baby smiled or his hair and eyes changed color, loving to watch his development each day.

Nymphadora, however, had realized that she couldn't take the agony of listening to her son crying, always thinking there could be something wrong with her baby.

"Dora, this is completely normal, babies have colic. Molly told me that." Lupin told his wife one night after she suggested for what he thought was the thousandth time to call a healer, watching her from the bed pacing back and forth their bedroom with a worried look on her face while rocking a crying Teddy in her arms.

"This can't be normal, he's been like this for hours already!" Tonks exclaimed, almost yelling at her husband. She never thought she'd be this kind of protective mother, thinking she'd be more care-free, but after doing everything that she could and not being able to help her baby, the woman was getting really frustrated.

"I've already told her that, Remus, but she won't listen." Andromeda walked into the couple's room with a warm towel she had just heated. It was already one in the morning, but she was up helping the two of them after her daughter woke her up, begging for help. "In fact, Nymphadora had lots of cramps as well when she was around Teddy's age. There's nothing we can do other than try to ease the colic." The older woman said, as she gently took Teddy from her daughter's arms and put him on the bed, placing the warm towel on his belly.

"How can you be this calm?!" Tonks looked from Teddy twitching his little face as he cried, shaking his arms and legs, to her mother, who didn't seem even a bit shaken by the situation. Even Lupin, who Nymphadora considered to be the calmest person she's ever met, was sitting up straight and running his hand through his hair in frustration. "I bet you were that type of mother that left the kid crying in the crib so it wouldn't get too used of being soothed."

"Well, as a matter of fact, I was. And you turned out pretty great, didn't you?" Andromeda pointed out, raising an eyebrow.

"Hey, look." Remus interrupted his wife and mother-in-law to point at Teddy, who was slowly stopping his cries, only sniffing a bit and sucking on his fingers. The man quickly picked up Teddy's pacifier from their dresser and put it in the baby's mouth, taking him in his arms and rocking his son, trying to make him fall asleep, now that the pain had gotten better.

"See? We just have to wait and do a few tricks to ease the colic for him. Eventually, it goes away." Andromeda said, caressing the baby's thin blonde hair.

With no arguments to counteract her mother, Tonks just threw herself on the bed, tired and relieved. Even when her own mom was there to give her tips, being a mother was hard work.

Since things were starting to get even more difficult in the wizarding world, deaths and arrests everyday, the family decided they'd be safer at Andromeda's place and, just before Teddy had turned one month old, they moved there, carrying only the essentials.

* * *

On May 2nd, Lupin got the call.

For the last couple of days, things had been heating up and they knew there was an imminent battle coming soon. And, although Lupin was very out of practice, being more at home with Nymphadora ever since he came back from that heated argument with Harry at the Grimmauld place, he still wanted to be a part of whatever battle there'd be, wanting to end Voldemort and his followers once and for all, so that his son could live a great and peaceful life in the wizarding world, a better future.

Remus had just put Teddy down in his crib at Andromeda's place when he received a patronus message. In the middle of the hallway, a silver lion appeared and spoke to him with the voice of Neville Longbottom.

"Harry is at Hogwarts. We're preparing to fight. Please, let the others know."

Lupin straightened his body, feeling his heart beating faster on his chest. That was it, it was time.

"Okay, so you're all meeting there?" Tonks asked him, pacing around the living room, after her husband explained to her the situation and started sending the message to the Weasleys and Kingsley. She had just watched him give a sleeping Teddy a goodbye kiss and that had made her even more nervous.

"Yes." Lupin answered distractedly, focused on his task.

"And Harry is already there? So, You-Know-Who must be on his way, right?"

"Yes."

"Remus…" She stood in front of Lupin, taking his hands in hers and making him look at her. The man saw the fear and concern in her eyes and gave her a smile, trying to calm her down.

"It'll be okay." He said, even though he knew he couldn't promise her anything.

"I just… I wish I could go too." Tonks admitted. The woman was an auror, so the feeling of actually wanting to be in the middle of the fight and helping defeat Voldemort was stronger than her.

"You need to be with Teddy." Lupin told her, putting his hands on the sides of her face, looking directly into her eyes, trying to make her understand.

"I know." She murmured, looking down. Nymphadora wanted to be with her son, but the need of being at the battle with Remus, fighting side by side with him was bigger than everything. She was terrified that those minutes right there would be the last ones she would ever spend with the love of her life. "Just… Come back."

Lupin saw her eyes staring deeply into his own, her voice with her usual request still lingering in his ears. Tonks asked that every time he left her, but this time it had a painful and anguish tone in her whisper. Both of them knew that was something he could not guarantee. They didn't know if he would be back, if they would ever see each other again or what the future held after that final battle.

But, she couldn't help asking him to come back to her, to their family, one last time. And he knew that. Lupin knew those words left her mouth almost in an automatic whisper, like a reflex. She just had to ask him. But he could not give her an answer.

Pressing their foreheads against each other, the couple breathed in deeply with their eyes closed before Lupin took her lips in his, giving her what they both knew could be their last kiss.

With his hands still on the side of her face, Remus caressed his wife's cheeks with his thumbs and pressed himself harder against her before their lips finally separated.

Tonks stood in the tips of her toes and threw her arms over his neck, holding him as tight as she could as she buried her face in the crook of her neck, feeling her husband do the same while his arms went around her waist.

They both stayed hugging each other for a while, before they slowly loosened their embrace and let go of each other.

Remus looked at Nymphadora, gave her a kiss on the forehead and, without saying a word, left.

* * *

"You want to go, don't you?" Andromeda asked her daughter an hour later, watching as the younger woman nervously paced around the living room, not knowing what to do.

"This waiting is killing me!" Tonks exclaimed, running her hand through her hair, noticing how fast her heart was beating in her chest, terrified about not having any news of what was going on at Hogwarts in that moment. "I'm supposed to be there with them, not here at home with nothing to do, I… I'm not fit for this!"

Andromeda, who was sitting on the couch, realized she'd never seen Nymphadora this scared before, tears almost falling from her eyes. She knew she and her daughter were very different types of women. Andromeda had done this waiting thing during her entire life. Through many battles she had been there, waiting to hear any news, to know if her only daughter was dead or alive, while she did everything she could to help, like taking in Harry Potter at her house during his transfer to the Burrow. The woman was never in the actual fight, but she knew very well the struggle her daughter was going through in that moment, the fear that something awful could be happening. That wasn't something you got used to.

"Go, Nymphadora." The woman gave her daughter a reassuring smile.

"What?" Tonks stopped pacing around and stood in front of her mother.

"You know you need to be there. You said it yourself, you're not 'fit' to do this." Andromeda said, trying to explain her point. "Teddy is with me. He'll be fine." _I won't_ , she meant to say, but stopped. The moment Nymphadora walked through the door, that fear you never get used to would be back to torment the older woman. Her husband was gone and she didn't know if she could bare to lose her daughter too. But, she knew that letting her go was the right thing to do. It's simply who Nymphadora is, a fighter, and there was no stopping her daughter.

"But…" Tonks tried to argue, but stopped mid-sentence, seeing the encouraging look on her mother's face, even though she knew it was very hard for Andromeda to do that. "Thank you, mom."

Both women stayed looking at each other with small smiles on their faces, until Nymphadora hurried to pick up her stuff and put on her coat.

Stopping in front of Teddy's room, she took a deep a breath.

The woman picked up the sleeping baby in her arms and held him tight against her chest, caressing his turquoise hair, the color he seemed to love the most, since it was the most frequent one on his head. Teddy yawned and moved his head a little bit, but didn't wake up. Tonks stared at her son for a while, watching him peacefully sleeping, his tiny chest going up and down at every breath he took.

"I love you, baby. So much." She whispered to him. "Mom and Dad are going to an important mission right now. We're trying to save the world. For you, Teddy. A better future for you." She stroke his cheek with her thumb, feeling tears running down her face and falling on his little green pajama shirt. "So, whatever happens, please know that we tried our best. And that we love you. So very much."

Tonks gave her son one last kiss on his forehead before putting the baby back in his crib and turning to leave the bedroom, stopping when she saw her mother had been standing in the doorway the entire time.

Andromeda had tears on her face whilst looking at her daughter, which she didn't even try to clean.

There were no words said when Nymphadora ran to her mother's arms in a tight a hug, both women taking in what could be their last moment together.

When it was time, they just shared a tender look, before Tonks walked through the door and left.

* * *

Andromeda had no reaction when she heard the news. A part of her already knew. She couldn't explain how, but she felt it, deep down. So, the woman just stayed sitting there on the couch for a while, breathing in and out while looking straight ahead.

When she finally got up, still no tears shed, Andromeda headed to her and her husband's bedroom to pick up something she had stored in a box inside her closet.

Fully determined, she grabbed it and made her way to Teddy's bedroom.

The baby was still fast asleep when she slightly picked him up and wrapped him with what used to be Nymphadora's white blanket from when she was a baby.

Nestling in the soft blanket, the baby's expression seemed to sooth even more when his grandmother placed the little wolf stuffed animal beside his head.

In a way, Teddy was still with them, his parents.

* * *

 **Author's note: Thank you guys so much for reading this fic and for your amazing reviews! This is the last chapter and I'm sorry I had to keep their death, but I just wanted to stay canon. However, if you guys want, I can write other fics or drabbles with Remadora very much alive and taking care of Teddy :) Please, let me know!**


End file.
